Executive order might block photos' release

The Obama administration is looking at using an executive order to block the release of photos documenting the abuse of U.S. military detainees, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

"I have reason to believe they are looking at that as a way to resolve this situation," Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday.

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The question of what to do about the photos, the subject of a FOIA lawsuit, has become a political sticking point in negotiations over a $108 billion war spending bill.

The Senate version of the bill included a provision banning release of the photos. The House version did not, and House conferees blocked it from being included in the final version of the bill, potentially complicating passage of the spending bill.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, when asked at Tuesday's press briefing, said he "won't get into private conversations" the president may or may not have had with Hoyer.

"All I'm going to say on this is that the president has committed to all interested parties that he intends to do what's necessary to keep those photos from being released, and that he intends -- he intends tokeep that commitment," Gibbs said.